Soybeans decline on possible increased US acreage estimate

 
Soybeans fell on speculation that the US Department of Agriculture may raise its forecast for plantings in the largest grower and exporter, boosting the outlook for a record harvest. Corn and wheat were little changed.

 
The oilseed for delivery in November lost as much as 0.9 % to US$12.675 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and was at US$12.70 at 3:26 p.m. in Singapore.

 
US farmers will probably plant 77.811 million acres (31.49 million hectares) this year, more than the 77.126 million acres forecast by the USDA in March, according to the average estimate of as many as 34 analysts and trading companies surveyed by Bloomberg. The acreage report is due for release on June 28. The USDA projects domestic output will rise to a record this year, rebounding from a drought in 2012 that hurt supplies.

  
"We'll possibly see an increase in acreage for soybeans in Friday's USDA report." Joyce Liu, an analyst at Phillip Futures Pte., said by phone from Singapore today. "The market will be positioning for the acreage report, as investors discount the outlook for higher 2013-2014 U.S. supply."

 
Farmers will probably switch some acres away from corn to soybeans after data showed weather in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan from March through May was the wettest on record going back 119 years, according to the Bloomberg survey. Soybeans can be planted later than corn and wheat.